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Friday, October 24, 2014

When the Philadelphia Flyers host the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night, it will be Shayne Gostisbehere and NOT Mark Alt who will be in uniform for the first time as an NHLer.

On Friday, the major media outlets reported that Alt, 23, and a second-round pick by the club in the 2010 draft, had been recalled from Lehigh Valley of the AHL after news broke of a dire situation on the Flyers' defense. However, the Flyers themselves countered that with official word early this evening that Florida native and Union College product Gostisbehere will get the nod.

Braydon Coburn, who has not played since Oct. 8 in Boston due to a foot injury, and was as close to playing as a day-to-day diagnosis last weekend, has been deemed out for the next four weeks. In addition, chief shot-blocker Andrew MacDonald was revealed to have suffered an unspecified lower-body injury.

The already thin blueline corps, which has presided over each opponent except for the Bruins scoring at least three goals, will be a complicated matter at least through Thanksgiving.

Despite calls from regions that have nothing to do with the decision-making process, Flyers GM Ron Hextall publicly stated earlier in the day that he steadfastly resisted the urge to bring up Gostisbehere, saying it was "a shame" that these issues didn't crop up a month or two down the line. However, that decision was apparently either reversed or a crafty way of speaking around the issue despite reports.

Gostisbehere, 21, has two assists in three games with the Phantoms in the early going -- both of which came in last Friday's home-opening 4-3 overtime win against the Adirondack Flames.

He memorably tallied a goal, two assists and a plus-7 rating in Union's 7-4 victory over Minnesota in the Frozen Four final in Philadelphia on April 12. He immediately jumped to the AHL and made his professional debut in the final Phantoms' home game in Glens Falls, a loss to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.